Lawyer Hamza Suhuyini, a member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) communications team, has challenged former Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia to explain why economic policies introduced under the previous New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration failed to deliver the desired results.
He argued that the ability to formulate economic policies was not enough to guarantee national economic recovery, stressing that effective implementation and leadership were essential to achieving meaningful results.
Speaking on Metro TV’s Good Morning Ghana, Mr Suhuyini said Dr Bawumia’s record as head of the previous administration’s Economic Management Team should be considered alongside his current criticisms of the government’s economic policies.
He recalled that Dr Bawumia himself had argued while in opposition between 2015 and 2016 that Ghana’s economic challenges were not necessarily due to a lack of policies, but rather the failure to translate them into practical outcomes.
“It is not enough to formulate policies. The problem of this country, even Dr Mahamudu Bawumia made that point in opposition between 2015 and 2016, was that the nation was not bereft of policies. What the problem was was practicality and leadership,” he said.
Mr Suhuyini questioned why the former vice president had not achieved comparable results from some of the policies introduced during his tenure, particularly those involving gold mobilisation and economic stabilisation.
Gold policies under scrutiny
The NDC communicator cited the Gold Board as an example of how policy implementation could influence economic performance.
He said the current government had restructured the Precious Minerals Marketing Company (PMMC) into the Gold Board, positioning it to contribute to foreign exchange mobilisation and economic stability.
Although he acknowledged Dr Bawumia’s contribution to policy discussions surrounding the use of gold in economic management, Mr Suhuyini argued that the former vice president must also account for the outcomes of the initiatives pursued under his leadership.
“You cannot write your success story about the stability of the cedi without gold and the role Dr Mahamudu Bawumia played in relation to that. True and beautiful, his credit for it,” he said.
However, he questioned why the practical application of similar ideas had not produced the economic turnaround expected under the previous administration.
“But where were those ideas and the ability to actually give practicality in terms of our economic turnaround? When Dr Mahamudu Bawumia introduced the gold-for-oil and gold-for-reserve policies, where were these practical steps?” he asked.
His comments centre on the distinction between introducing economic interventions and ensuring that they deliver measurable benefits to the country.
NDC rejects claims of a rosy economic picture
Mr Suhuyini’s remarks come amid criticism of the government’s economic management by Dr Bawumia, who served as vice president and chaired the Economic Management Team under the previous NPP administration.
The NDC communicator defended his party’s approach to communicating economic developments, insisting that the government would not claim that all commodity prices had declined.
He maintained that some government interventions had begun to influence the prices of goods and services but cautioned against presenting the economy as though all its challenges had been resolved.
“The NDC will not behave like Dr Mahamudu Bawumia and create a rosy picture where the system is not all that rosy,” he said.
Mr Suhuyini’s argument is that the assessment of economic leadership should go beyond policy announcements to examine implementation, measurable outcomes and the impact of interventions on the lives of Ghanaians.
His challenge places Dr Bawumia’s record in government at the centre of the debate over economic management, as the former vice president continues to criticise the policies of the NDC administration.
